1 week Ago
Elon Musk on September 21 backed down in his fight against the Brazilian judiciary and has agreed to comply with court orders that had blocked users in the country from accessing his social network X (formerly Twitter). The billionaire-owned platform X has hired a legal representative, one of the key demands made by Brazil’s judges, seeking to obey a deadline imposed by the Supreme Court and end the ban on the social-media platform in the country that began on August 30, according to a judicial filing cited by news agency Bloomberg. X has also reportedly paid outstanding fines and took down user accounts that the court had ordered to be removed on the basis that they threatened the country’s democracy, the New York Times reported.
However, the contention between X and Brazil top court judge Justice Alexandre de Moraes is not entirely over yet. The judge has given the microblogging site five days to provide further information on its legal representation, as per the new order. As per the Supreme Court, X had not filed the proper documentation showing that it had appointed Rachel de Oliveira Conceicao as its Brazilian representative.
Therefore, it gave the company five days to present documents validating her appointment, NYT reported. The SC judge, who is leading a campaign against fake news and hate speech, banned X in August after Musk refused to appoint a legal representative in Brazil and restrict certain accounts. Musk, however, tried to portray the judge’s efforts as a dangerous example of state overreach and an attack on free speech, while Moraes’ supporters say the campaign is necessary to clean up the internet.
Although X informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it had appointed two attorneys in the country, Moraes gave the company 24 hours to prove lawyers were hired on its behalf. The deadline ended at 9:29 p.m.
local time Friday, according to the court. In April, Musk pledged to defy orders from Moraes, who is spearheading a judicial campaign against hate speech and fake news, to suspend certain accounts in the country. The world’s richest man accused the judge of censorship, while Moraes opened a criminal inquiry into Musk and accused him of spreading disinformation.
This week the platform abruptly became accessible to Brazilian users after an automatic update switched the way it directs traffic, the country’s association of internet providers said. (With agency inputs).
